Mayor's Choice Reflects Voters

Our Towns

Vernon

January 09, 2004

Vernon Mayor Ellen Marmer could have picked a less partisan person than Terri J. Goldich for a position on the planning and zoning commission. But as a mayor elected on a platform opposing big-box development, her choice merely reflects the voters' will.

Mayor Marmer made an appropriate decision when she nominated someone who echoes her strong stand against large-scale commercial construction.

Ms. Goldich is a member of and fund-raiser for the Rockville Concerned Citizens for Responsible Development, a group of residents that has campaigned strongly against big-box retail proposals by Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Republicans objected to her nomination by the mayor because of that connection.

By a party-line vote, the town council approved her appointment to the commission Tuesday.

Having a person with an obvious bias making zoning decisions might make a legal appeal more tempting for someone whose application the commission rejects. But in this town, which has endured heated debates about two large retail proposals, it would be difficult to find any well-informed resident without an opinion on this issue.

Outspoken critics of development who end up in decision-making positions sometimes are surprised at the view from the other side of the table. Legal requirements and established zoning regulations create constraints that make it difficult to reject certain proposals that they may find personally distasteful.

With land-use conservatives on the commission, residents are assured such projects will be controlled as much as possible.

Ultimately, Vernon's development future rests with the voters. The leaders they chose know the direction residents want them to take.